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Thursday, July 10, 2014

Age of Rebellion Core Rulebook: Review 1 of 2

I have a lot of mixed feelings about this book.. so I decided to review it twice.
you may see why after reading both reviews.

Review 1.

Assumptions:

1* The buyer is new to role playing games.

2* FFGs’ Star Wars: Edge of the Empire product line does not
exist (or at minimum, the buyer has and never will have any desire to purchase
or utilize any of that product lines material.)

Age of
Rebellion Core Rulebook provides everything needed for both players and Game
Masters alike to jump in to the Star Wars universe at one of its most exciting
times. From the introduction, the reader is thrown into the Rebel ranks and
sets the on an adventure to defeat the evil Empire.

The rules clearly state that the focus is on Role-Play and
the heavy use of Narrative to keep things moving along smoothly. Like most RPG’s
the rules can take a while to master but in Age of Rebellion they are clearly
written and you will quickly pick up the basics. The dice system is interesting
as well as dynamic, supporting the narrative style of the game and pleasing
those of us who enjoy throwing fistfuls of dice down as frequently as possible.

As players begin to create characters they will find several
options from race selection to careers and specializations. There are 8
familiar and recognizable races to choose from including the Gran, Droids, and
even the race of our beloved Admiral Akbar, the Mon Calamari.

There are 6 Career path options each with 3 specialization
trees as well as a ‘universal’ tree for those who are just starting out, or
just can’t decide yet. Maybe you’d like to be a Diplomat who dabbles in computer
hacking, or maybe augment you’re Ace Pilot’s skills by learning some Scout
Talents. With the games system designed to let players branch out however they
like over time, players will find there are plenty of options to keep them
interested for quite a while. The special abilities you gain from your Careers
Talent trees help separate you from the commoners, but don’t forget your basic
skills.

A large list of Skills are the core of what your character
can do and how well it gets done. Purchase up to 5 ranks in a skill to roll
more dice and have the advantage. Skills vary from combat skills such as Melee
and Gunnery, to more esoteric skills like Knowledge (core worlds) and
Astrogation.

The skills are described in detail. You’ll learn what each
one is good for, what it can and in some cases can’t, do. The book even gives
options on how to interpret dice results for certain kinds of skill checks,
which helps both players and Game Masters keep things moving smoothly.

Once you get past the character creation, there is a fairly
standard fair of gadgets and gizmos, arms and armor that are available to the
players. Save up and buy that fancy armor, if you don’t you might want to
invest in a Bacta Tank. Even the weapons and armor in this game can be further
modified. The modification options are somewhat limited, but even the small
selection dramatically increases the overall number of ‘options’.

Of course, no Star Wars universe would be complete without
some of those iconic Spaceships and imperial walkers. Fear not, Age of Rebellion
provides stats for speeders, AT-ATs and even Star Destroyers. The ship combat
rules are a bit less streamlined than the rules for personal combat, but they
still get the job done. I imagine that most combat would not be ship combat
though as player characters would be hard pressed to purchase a ship that would
last more than a round against a star destroyer. Even in smaller ships though
it’s still a generally dangerous and final a prospect to have your ship blown
up in space seeing as how, when that happens you rapidly go from ‘meat bag in a
box’ to ‘meatsicle out in the cold depths of space’ assuming of course that you
aren’t immediately turned into ‘meat mist’ by the initial blowing up part…. Aaaanyway.

One thing that is likely to disappoint players is the
apparent lack of Force related powers or abilities. There is a singular Force
related Talent tree, and three basic powers you can acquire. You can move things
with your mind, use the force to enhance your own physical abilities, or see
the future. The powers here can be quite powerful, but the players won’t be
able to just pick up a lightsaber and have the powers of Vader. Of course, that
all makes some sense, since the Age of Rebellion is set in a time when there
are no Jedi and the Force is a nearly forgotten thing.

The Age of Rebellion Core Rulebook has a nice section to
help Game Masters set things up and lead a group of players. It’s not the most
in depth help I’ve ever seen, but it’s a start.

There is a starter story in the back, a short mini-campaign
that your GM can run called the Perlemian Haul. Its got bad guys, good guys and
other stuff I won’t spoil for you, but it’s pretty well done even if it is
fairly short.

When your done with the Perlemian Run, there is also a
moderate helping of bad guys and locations to choose from that are already stat’d
up and ready to go.

All the pieces are there. Good concepts, good rules, lots of
choices, no glaringly horrible oversights, a little bit to get you started and
a boat-load to keep you going.

For new GMs and new players who love the Star Wars universe
Age of Rebellion is going to be a ton of fun.

-1 for not having more… stuff (just in general, more stuff
is nice)

-1 for minor gripes about ship combat rules and very minor
gripes about the books organization.

As far as Core Rulebooks for a new RPG goes, this is pretty great.
8/10

Review 2 still in the works. Should find time in the next couple days.